


Soda Pop

by OceanCandy (PaddlingDingo), PaddlingDingo



Series: The Spaces In Between [4]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Charlton in Hyman form, Charlton learns weird things about earth, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24519505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaddlingDingo/pseuds/OceanCandy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaddlingDingo/pseuds/PaddlingDingo
Summary: Every afternoon, Todd goes into the kitchen, and Charlton hears a weird hiss and a pop. Today is the day he goes to investigate.A slice of life story where nothing explodes. Somehow. May end with a plan to prank Todd.
Relationships: Charlton & Eliot Waugh, Charlton & Todd
Series: The Spaces In Between [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746043
Kudos: 9





	Soda Pop

Every day, between 3 and 5pm, Todd went into the kitchen. Charlton heard a hiss followed by a pop, then Todd came out with a container of something that he would continue to drink. 

After a week of watching the routine, Charlton set down the book he was reading. He’d picked up some books on magical theory, as he wasn’t willing to try casting yet. He could still feel that the Circumstances were off, compounded by the fact that magic felt different on Earth. To top even _that_ off, Charlton wasn’t even in the body he’d learned to cast in. He’d only had a body again for all of the last four days, and it wasn’t anything like his own. Every sound, smell, or sight felt like it more than it was. Colors were brighter again, which made his time in the Physical Kids’ Cottage a strange feast for the eyes. He memorized every detail of the world around him, trying to commit it all to memory as he built his own reference to the new world he lived in. 

Today, at 3:53pm, Todd had come into the cottage, said hello to Charlton, and headed to the kitchen. This time, Charlton tucked a bookmark into the book he’d been reading, and got up to investigate. 

He walked into the kitchen as Todd opened the fridge and pulled out a red can. Charlton had seen them in the fridge, with their flowing white writing, but had overlooked them in favor of the things that felt familiar. Which meant he spent a lot of time drinking water and eating whatever looked vaguely edible. 

Todd tapped the top of the can a few times, and Charlton waited in anticipation in the doorway as he worked his fingers under the little piece of metal on top and pulled it up. The satisfying hiss sounded, followed by the pop. 

“What is that?” he asked, coming into the room and eying it as Todd took a drink out of the bright red can.

“Hey Charlton,” Todd greeted, glancing over at him. “It’s a Coke.”

Charlton remembered that the writing on the can had seemed to say Coca-Cola. He supposed it made sense as a nickname, but also, the words made no sense. “But what _is_ it?”

Todd eyed him. “Sometimes I forget you’re… not from around here. Okay.” Putting the can down, he reached for the kitchen and opened the door. “You’ve never had soda?”

It seemed like a lot of words for a single beverage. “Is it Coca-Cola, is it Coke, or is it soda?” Charlton watched Todd pull another can out of the case in the fridge.

Todd straightened, holding a can in his hand. “It doesn’t really matter, what’s important is that this,” he said, pointing to the can, “is something that you have to try.”

Charlton moved in and took it from him, turning it over a few times in his hand. It felt cold and metallic, and yielded just a little if he pushed at it with his fingers. He shifted it to his other hand, noticing where his fingers left trails in the little droplets of water that accumulated on the outside. 

“No, no, don’t do that,” Todd warned, setting the can back upright in Charlton’s hands. “Don’t move it much.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just bad.” Todd thought about it, then smiled. “Although sometimes it does something really cool. You should try showing Eliot sometime.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Something in Todd’s tone made him think that he should talk to Eliot before that particular demonstration. Charlton tapped at the top of the can like he’d seen Todd do. “And I just pull on this?” he asked, tucking his fingernails under the tab. It took more effort than it appeared to. 

“Slowly,” Todd warned. “Especially after you knocked it around.”

So far, this came with more warnings than it seemed worth. “What happens if I do it quickly?” 

“It’s… just not good.” Todd shook his head. 

Fine, then. Charlton would look it up later. He pulled the tab slowly, hearing a soft hiss as he pulled up on it. There was something oddly satisfying about the hiss, the resistance of the tab. It felt like air escaping, brushing over the inside of his curled hand as the hiss faded, then the pop sounded. A thin vapor rose from the opening in the can. He peered into the opening, but it looked too dark to see the liquid inside. 

“You can drink it out of the can,” Todd offered, picking his back up to drink it. “Or you could put it in a glass. Whatever you want.”

“I’d love to open five of them but that sounds wasteful,” Charlton noted, sniffing at it. A sweet smell that he couldn’t identify. 

“I wouldn’t do that. It sounds like a great idea, but it’s not. Your stomach will hate you. Or Hyman’s stomach will hate you.” Todd shrugged. “Which he might have coming but I don’t think you do.”

“I just want to hear the sound,” Charlton admitted. He lifted the can to his lips, feeling the ridge around the edge of it with his tongue. The can rested against his bottom lip and he lifted it, feeing the cold, sweet liquid pour into his mouth. It was full of bubbles, which tickled the inside of his mouth as he drank it. He’d never had anything like it, anything that danced through his mouth like some kind of glittering water. He pulled it away and stared at Todd. “This is amazing!” 

“You can have a few out of the box if you’d be willing to do me a favor,” Todd noted. 

“That depends on the favor. I won’t do your homework,” Charlton noted. Even if he could work out Todd’s final year homework, it would take a lot of investment on his part, and he needed that time to work out how to do magic well enough to pass his own practical exam. 

“Nothing like that. When you take a can, you can take my next turn at cleaning the kitchen.”

“You _should_ just learn to clean the kitchen with magic,” Charlton grumbled. “It’s what everyone else here does.”

“I’ve broken too many plates and they made me stop.”

Charlton took another sip of the soda, weighing his options. It tasted good, but he could get it elsewhere. Except he didn’t have any money or means to get it. It wasn’t a terrible tradeoff, and he really liked the “Coca-Cola”. “Okay. I’ll do it. But it doesn’t mean I’m taking all of your turns,” he added. “I’m not going to drink much of it.”

“It’s a deal.” Todd grinned and cruised back upstairs to his room, and Charlton sipped at the sweet drink, swirling the liquid around in his mouth

Realistically, he could probably drink a few of these a day easily, but then he’d be cleaning the kitchen for months. Maybe he’d ask if he could just open the cans, to hear the hiss and the pop. 

He heard the front door open and exited the kitchen with the can in his hand, in time to see Eliot walk through the door, with his briefcase in his hand. He’d been working on lesson plans to prepare for the upcoming term. 

Eliot set the case down on a chair and looked over at Charlton. “You convinced Todd to part with a soda.”

“Sort of,” Charlton admitted. “I’m trading kitchen cleaning for it.”

Eliot rolled his eyes. “Of course. Let me show you a trick.” Eliot walked into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, pointing at the cans. “This automatically restocks 5 minutes after you’ve taken one.” 

Charlton peered over the door and sure enough, another can was back in the fridge where Todd had taken the previous one. “So all I have to do is take one in the early morning when he’s sleeping, and hide the empty can,” Charlton offered. 

“That’s all. And Todd keeps cleaning the kitchen.”

Charlton thought about one other thing Todd had said. “He also said I should try shaking one and opening it in front of you,” Charlton noted.

“Of course he did. Moron.” Eliot shook his head. “Don’t shake them. When you open them, they spray everywhere, and it’s sticky. The bad sticky, it’s a fucking nightmare. Not what you want to find when you’ve got a hangover.”

An idea started to form in Charlton’s head. “So what I should do is come down here about a half hour before he normally comes to get a can, shake it up, and put it back in the fridge for him to find,” he offered, grinning. 

A look crossed Eliot’s face. “You spent too much time with Margo,” he declared. “But yes, that’s exactly what you should do.”

“Good to know.” Charlton grinned and walked back through the living room, to find a place to continue reading and enjoy the apparently bottomless beverage that was as interesting to open as it was to drink. 

**Author's Note:**

> A shamelessly silly story that I couldn’t get out of my head!


End file.
